Madden NFL 10: Online Franchise and Elite Status

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We give our final thoughts on gameplay and details on two new features.

By Nate Ahearn

After you sit down and play Madden for several hours the way I have, the amount of content that has been added to this year's game really becomes evident. While the new features may not be perfect, EA Sports seems to have done a better job in listening to their fans and delivering content they want than what we've seen from the sports conglomerate in the past. In Madden NFL 10 you'll find online co-op, online franchise, a boatload of new broadcast presentation styles, some great gameplay refinements, and something called Elite Status for the truly hardcore Madden player (more details on this on page 2.)

To kick things off, let's talk about gameplay. As I'm sure you've heard by now, this is the slowest moving Madden in quite a long time. I'm not talking about framerates, nor is this a knock of any kind on the game. Rather the overall speed has been reduced by 5% so it's more in line with what we see from actual NFL players. This – believe it or not – has a huge impact on what happens on the field. I found that holes in the offensive line are easier to spot and hit, tacklers easier to juke, and the finite movements in animations that might have been lost in the frenetic pace of past games can now be seen in detail.

I've also noticed that passing the ball is a bit more of a challenge than it has been in prior Madden titles. Quick out routes are no longer a sure thing as defensive backs now jump on routes without hesitation and effectively jam your receivers on the line when starting their routes. There have been countless times when I expected to see a tight end running a drag route across the field, only to look back and see that he's still grappling with a defensive lineman. Five-yard bump rule be damned!

One of the most important changes that I could see on the offensive side of the ball was the new juking. Jukes in this year's game look much more realistic than they have in the past. It's no longer a hop-step that would be impossible in real life when sprinting at the speeds you see in the NFL. Instead, in Madden NFL 10 you'll see running backs actually fake one direction and move in another, just like in real life. The end-result, when timed properly, is a defender quite literally winding up on his ass.

On defense things are a bit more traditional with one notable change. This year, when grappling with an offensive lineman as a DB, linebacker or defensive lineman, all of your special moves are linked to the right analog stick. You'll now be able to make bull rushes, swim moves and slide under a block with different directions on the right analog. You'll also be able to send defenders on a Hook Zone anywhere on the field and the Deep Zone hot route will send a defender straight back into deep zone (shocking, I know) coverage.

While those aren't all of the changes that have been made to the gameplay side of Madden NFL 10, they are what I view to be the most important. Some might argue that being able to use the right stick to slide in the pocket while playing as the quarterback or Fight for the Fumble should've been included. I disagree.

Next we're going to talk about two new features to the Madden series: online franchise and the ability called Elite Status.